In the narrative “Girl” by Jamaica Kinkaid, semi-colons was the literary device used to express the heavy load girls take on when she’s becoming into a woman, it’s a sense of overwhelming the young mind. From a very young age girls are taught to express themselves in such a way that will live up to societal standards of a woman, in the reading we find that the mother is giving orders to her daughter so she won’t become the slut she’s so bent on becoming. These orders are arranged in a manner of which the end goals are to not end up being a slut and getting a man. “Don’t squat down to play marbles…”, this is a rule that almost every girl is taught, its “un-lady like”, for he simple reason that what’s in between her legs is now visible to the …show more content…
eyes of men. Girls that squat are more than likely considered tomboys, because with today’s gender rules that’s just not what a lady does. We hinder the female gender from going growing as whole when older role model figures have a set path that we must follow in order to be accepted by the world. In other words, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said it best; “Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important…and we don’t teach boys the same?” These life choices are predetermined by older generations. Older generations have fixated a gender norm, women no longer get a choice as to how they would like to live their life, unless it’s approved of by society. Ultimately, carrying the expectations of the world and having to meet those standards are a lot. That is the thing that the use of the semi-colons addresses the endless requests of what's ordinary from a woman. The young woman's mother gives a drawn out sentence of solicitations and urging: the mother is provoking her young lady on the most ideal approach to win at both the minor and the fundamental life-errands. The reader comes to see that for this mother the hugeness of appearance charges her vernacular as it guidelines her the way she sees her daughter. In any case, behind her diversion with appearance is a bolstered preparing in the strategies for the house, the techniques for the world and the techniques for men. The mother yells, for example, "...this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming..." This line is especially fundamental to the piece all in all, for it talks totally to the physical and materialistic appearances, and what's more the mother demonstrating to her daughter proper methodologies to secure herself as a woman. In this short text, Jamaica Kincaid uses contradictory diction to create a relatable theme to the readers.
This third person text, is from the respective of a young girl receiving advice or societal guidance form a motherly figure. Readers see that the motherly woman goes through the text by listing all the things the young girl should be doing but she often contradicts herself by saying things that seem opposite of what should be expected. The womanly figure speaks on how to do laundry, cooking and cleaning. She then says “this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick so that it doesn’t fall on you” (Kincaid 321). It is to note because this type of contradiction because it exemplifies a small message pf not being perfect or just being yourself. The mother is preparing the young lady for the world as she grows, but by say this it shows that the mother does not want the young girl to forget that she is still a child. All the duties that the mother is filling this young child with can seem overwhelming even from the readers prospective. We can also see then when the motherly woman tells her how to hem a dress so that the hem does not show thus preventing her from “looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid 320). This future models the idea that the mother has an understand that there is a certain way a young woman should grow up and be, yet the young girl must still choose her own
path.
The initial two lines of this poem present the recollections that the primary individual storyteller will be transferring. The speaker, when she ponders the importance of her life, "… what I'm like, underneath (1)" she considers her initial two
She was able to see a young woman only besmeared by old age and the labyrinth of a fulfilled life. The importance of peering beyond the earthly armor we develop through out our lives cannot be understated. Perception often changes easily for better or for worse. When we choose strengthen our resolve to read between the lines understanding
The Mother walks through the city streets boisterously proclaiming that her daughter is a chess champion. She says, “This is my daughter Waverly-ly Jong.” Waverly quickly informs her mother that she is uncomfortable with her bragging to everyone. Despite the fact that Waverly is embarrassed, her mother does not care about how Waverly feels. Waverly finally snaps, when she says, “I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice speaking, ‘Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don’t you learn to play chess?’” Waverly understands that she is being used by her mother. She feels as if she is an animal in a zoo, who is behind a glass window, and out in display for all to see. For the first time Waverly is able to express how she feels about her mother’s control and mental abuse. Furthermore, Waverly insists that her mother is going to have to learn to play chess herself, if she wants all the attention. This climatic scene should be followed with a happy-ending; a moment of mother and daughter bonding, although the contrary occurs. The Mother is certainly not going to allow Waverly to insult her by expressing her opinion. Regardless of how upset Waverly is, the Mother will not stop publically proclaiming Waverly’s greatness. The Mother needs the attention of other people, “Most studies will show that mothers and fathers hell-bent on this image of perfection desperately need the world to take note of their kids’ awesomeness. It’s a way of saying, see, my kids are great. Therefore, I am great. Look at me. See? I’m a great parent. Really, I am” (Gault). Waverly’s mother desperately desires to be seen as successful and perfect. Announcing to everyone in the city that Waverly is a chess champion is her way of calling attention to herself. The only time Waverly gets the slightest
...ltimately makes the young girl feel that she will break underneath all the pressure she is placed upon by her peers. Inevitably it seems that Judith Ortiz Cofer used similes in order to connect both the act of maturing to a much more somber factor which have reinforced the tenor of the poem.
...taphors, and the simplistic approach are all ways she used to express the feelings of a young fifteen year old girl, wondering when they will grow into their bodies and out of the awkward stage they are stuck in. She beautifully illustrates the longing for that perfect dress which will solve all of their problems for even just one night. But even after it is said and done with, and we have grown into our skin, we will more than likely not be perfect by Cosmopolitan standards, but perfect just the way we are supposed to be.
By educating herself she was able to form her own opinion and no longer be ignorant to the problem of how women are judge by their appearance in Western cultures. By posing the rhetorical question “what is more liberating” (Ridley 448), she is able to get her readers to see what she has discovered. Cisneros also learned that despite the fact that she did not take the path that her father desired, he was still proud of all of her accomplishments. After reading her work for the first time her father asked “where can I get more copies” (Cisneros 369), showing her that he wanted to show others and brag about his only daughters accomplishments. Tan shifts tones throughout the paper but ends with a straightforward tone saying “there are still plenty of other books on the shelf. Choose what you like” (Tan 4), she explains that as a reader an individual has the right to form their own opinion of her writing but if they do not like it they do not have to read it because she writes for her own pleasure and no one else’s. All of the women took separate approaches to dealing with their issues but all of these resolutions allowed them to see the positive side of the
As she sat at her work table she, “was drawn away,” by the screeching sirens outside her window. In this example, the author uses the word “was” as an indicator of her recollection of the events of that evening. The way they quickly grasped her attention reveals how focused she was on these specific occurrences surrounding her. We also notice how she is reflecting on the bad things that happen in society, yet we find ways to overcome them in order to continue to live our lives. In the following paragraphs, we see the judgment she has towards people who fail to consume themselves within the events happening around them. More specifically, we see her judgment towards the young man across the street who is so dedicatedly working on his table and in fact she wonders why he takes, “all those pains to make it beautiful?” She fails to understand his outlook on life by presenting us with a rhetorical question that she herself could not answer in the very moment. She fails to understand why and how a person can cherish life so deeply when his surroundings consist of nothing but chaos. As we continue to read through her essay we come across a moment that changes her perspective on the idea that people can quite possibly live a life that is consumed in something they love rather than the fear of
ThThe notion of getting older, one day has too frightened me. I wonder what could I have done in the past to change the future. I reminisce of all the things I have done with the people that I love. But, at the end the day, I look forward to getting older. I look forward to the memories that I will make, which one day will be stories told between two friends or family members about their crazy grandmother Gabriella. E.B. White 's essay represents the fears that adults, but mostly parents, face when seeing children grow up and experience life the same way they once did. These nostalgic moments turn to fear of losing their youth. I believe that White 's essay is a manifestation of a mid-life crisis that fails to show what life has to offer after
middle of paper ... ... Doing so will win the daughter the respect from the community that her mother wants for her. “The slut you’re bent on becoming” and other variations of the line reoccur throughout the text and may be one of the seemingly obvious expressions that propounds the mother’s ramification with the system and illustrates her efforts to shape a daughter who performs her instructions appropriately. Works Cited Fisher, Jerilyn, and Ellen S. Silber.
...autiful creatures and deserve everything life has to offer. When gathered together, nothing can destroy the strength of a woman. Guidance from parents, at a very young age, can help mold the minds of the young children in today’s society. This world has become overpopulated with greed and hate. The only way to get past the hatred and violence is to love thy neighbor, and protect our young from the unnecessary violence that can be eliminated with love for one another.
Eva’s lack of value for motherhood shaped the lives of her family as well as her own. Because of her negative feelings toward motherhood, many of the people surrounding her have similar values. Eva reflects her community’s negative perception of motherhood by being straightforward about it and passing it down through her family
It is easily inferred that the narrator sees her mother as extremely beautiful. She even sits and thinks about it in class. She describes her mother s head as if it should be on a sixpence, (Kincaid 807). She stares at her mother s long neck and hair and glorifies virtually every feature. The narrator even makes reference to the fact that many women had loved her father, but he chose her regal mother. This heightens her mother s stature in the narrator s eyes. Through her thorough description of her mother s beauty, the narrator conveys her obsession with every detail of her mother. Although the narrator s adoration for her mother s physical appearance is vast, the longing to be like her and be with her is even greater.
Finally, the movie says that women, first of all, should rely on themselves and not submit to any kind of domination. They should simply support themselves by their own efforts instead of letting someone else arrange and control their lives. The movie also demonstrates how a girl possessing the virtues of honesty, patience, prudence, industry, and obedience can be rewarded with a husband and the attendant better life and higher social position.
He describes beauty as delicate and rare, unable to be established. He focuses on the lightheartedness of young girls, how they are caught up in beauty, and he warns them to be conscientious of the fact that their beauty will fade and that they cannot put all their hope on their beauty. At the same time, he encourages them to "practice" their beauty until it is gone, and he promises to celebrate that beauty as best he can, with all its value and frailty.
... Therefore, instead of losing mental stability because of old memories, one should try to embrace sanity and perpetuate it in life. Moreover, the poem emulates society because people fantasize about looking a certain way and feeling a certain way; however, they are meddling with their natural beauty and sometimes end up looking worse than before. For instance, old men and women inject their faces to resemble those in their youth, but they worsen their mental and physical state by executing such actions. To conclude, one should embrace her appearance because aging is inevitable.